Now What?
by Twilight Warrior 1994
Summary: AU. A drunken one night stand between Artemis and Kaldur leaves Artemis pregnant. Full summary inside. Credit for the title goes to dragonick711.
1. Prologue

_**I'm saying right now, this is nothing like the movie Knocked Up. I hated it, I don't plan to see it again anytime soon.**_

_**Jackson Hyde, better known to his loved ones as Kaldur'ahm, is the PTSD soldier returning home from the war. Artemis Crock is the world-weary girl from the wrong side of the tracks taking care of herself and her paraplegic mother. When a drunken one night stand leaves Artemis pregnant, these two are left with a lot to figure out: What next? What do they really mean to each other? And what about their baby?**_

_**Summary sucks I know. Story will be better. Or not depending on your point of view.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Let me apologize right now if anything is wrong. I am not in the military, I don't know anyone who is, I respect anyone in the military immensly. Ditto for the wedding and college stuff. I have yet to go to a wedding or college.**_

* * *

_Today is the day, _was what Jackson Hyde, better known to his friends as Kaldur'ahm, or simply Kaldur, thought when he looked at himself in his bathroom mirror, half of his face covered in shaving cream. Today was the day of the wedding of Roy Harper, Kaldur's best friend, to a woman named Jade Nguyen.

Kaldur wished this happy thought had been the thing that had woken him up this morning, instead of nightmares involving bombs and being totally helpless while you watch the love of your life get blown to pieces.

Last week had been Kaldur's first time home in two years, after having been shipped overseas. Kaldur had joined the Marines the minute he was out of school. Mostly because it was all he had ever known. His father was also a former marine, and all his life Kaldur had heard tales about military life. Kaldur had joined the ROTC when he was in college, and he probably would have skipped college and went straight for the Marines had his mother not insisted he get "a decent education to fall back on".

_Well mother, you'll be very pleased to know you were right_, Kaldur thought, though he knew neither of his parents would say something like that out loud. They loved their son, their pride and joy, far too much.

His parents were the Major General David Hyde and Sha'lain'a "Sophia" Telemachus Hyde. At some point when he was shipped overseas, David Hyde was stationed in Greece. While there, he met the beautiful, golden-haired Sha'lain'a Telemachus. The two dated, or "courted" as David preferred to say, all throughout David's stay in Greece. They stayed in contact when he was relocated, and two years later when an IED took out half of his squadron and left him deaf in one ear, he was honorably discharged and returned to Greece for Sha'lain'a.

When they came to America, Sha'lain'a thought it best to "Americanize" and changed her name to Sophia. But to David she would always be Sha'lain'a. When they had their son, they named him Jackson for David's father, but Sha'lain'a also gave him the private name of Kaldur'ahm, or simply Kaldur, for his Grecian heritage.

His shaving finished, Kaldur decided he didn't want to stay in his small hotel room until two o'clock, and thought about going over to Roy's to see if he could offer his assistance. The wedding and reception were being held in Star City's Botanical Garden's. As far as Kaldur knew every detail was taken care of. But hey, at least he could sit in companionable silence at Roy's if nothing else.

* * *

_Today is the day_, Artemis Crock thought as she and her older sister, Jade Nguyen, helped their mother, Paula Crock, into the car, folding her wheelchair down and stowing it in the trunk. Today is the day Jade gets married to Roy Harper, the adopted son of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance Queen, a wealthy old money industrialist and a noted psychiatrist.

And it wasn't hard to see who was more excited. Paula could not stop telling anyone who would listen that her oldest daughter was getting married. She didn't do it to brag of course. Paula was simply overjoyed to finally see one of her daughters getting a better life for herself.

You see, when Paula was a little girl, her family emigrated from Vietnam to the United States. And it sucked rocks.

There was almost never enough money, or food. The family lived in a terrible building in a bad part of town. More often than she liked, Paula was forced by her father and mother to steal from local convenience stores. When she was eighteen and a freshman in college, she met sophomore Lawrence Crock. They dated all through college, and married as soon as they graduated. Paula had their daughter Jade about ten years afterward, Artemis four years after Jade. The family wasn't rich, but they did well. They lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Life was good.

Until eleven years earlier, when a car crash killed Lawrence and left Paula crippled from the waist down. The funeral and medical bills all but wiped them out financially. The family were forced to move to the cheapest home they could find, in the poorest part of town. To Paula it was a crushing blow. She never wanted her children to live the kind of life she had had to live.

She liked to think that it made them stronger.

Artemis got a scholarship to Gotham Academy, one of "the most prestigous schools in the country", at least by Paula's standards, when she was fifteen, graduated at the top of her class with honors, and graduated with her masters from college three months prior.

Jade ran away when they moved, believing that she would be helping her mother and younger sister. She changed her last name to her mother's maiden name, and found odd jobs wherever she could, sending half of her paycheck to her mother and sister, until the age of nineteen when she became a high-class escort, something that she's not exactly proud of but something that she isn't necessarily ashamed of either.

Especially because it was how she met her fiancée.

Roy Harper, a detective on the Star City police force, went undercover as a client to investigate the escort service Jade worked for. The two ended up falling in love. When Roy ended his investigation, Jade left with him.

And today was the day of their wedding. Jade had surprisingly relaxed when it came to the preparations, surprisingly because Jade demanded perfection from herself and those around her. It was around twelve o'clock, and the Crock/Nguyen women were on the way to Megan Morse's (one of Jade's bridesmaids) to get ready.

_I just hope I can make this perfect for Jade_, Artemis thought.


	3. Chapter 2

The stars were starting to come out. The wedding had been perfect. At least as far as Artemis could tell. This was the first wedding she'd ever been to.

The food was great, the music wasn't some boring classical orchestra, the bridesmaids dresses were a simple sleeveless emerald chiffon. She and the bridesmaids had even managed to make Jade look... _demure_. It was probably the first, and last, time in her life.

For the record, the bridesmaids are Megan Morse, a freckled, redheaded brown-eyed woman of twenty-one, Zatanna Zatara, a nineteen year old blue-eyed brunette, and Raquel Ervin, or as her friends knew her for her bold personality, Rocket, a twenty year old african-american woman. They had been Artemis' friends all through high school and college, and really only knew Jade through Artemis. But in Jade's line of work, she had more acquaintances than she did friends. She never even officially named Artemis as her maid of honor. That was handled by their mother.

Right now, Artemis was standing by the bar, looking out at the crowd. A lot of the faces were unfamiliar. Probably the grooms side. Hell, **mostly** the grooms side.

Every now and then she saw her friends. And when she did they were usually dancing with one of Roy's groomsmen. Megan was dancing with Conner Kent, a handsomely built black-haired blue-eyed man Artemis had already danced with. Zatanna was dancing with Richard "Dick" Grayson, also blue-eyed and black-haired but much slimmer built and fresh out of the police academy.

Both couples seemed to be enjoying themselves a little too much than was necessary. Everytime Artemis caught a glimpse of Rocket, she was dancing with a new partner. The same was true for Wally West, another redhead who worked in the forensics lab at Roy's precinct.

The only groomsmen who wasn't dancing was a blonde, dark-skinned man Roy introduced as Jackson Hyde. He seemed perfectly content to simple sit at a table and people watch like she was, occasionally talking to anyone who stopped to. Artemis noticed however that he seemed to jump when there was a sudden loud noise.

Her attention was taken by her cellphone buzzing, telling her she had received a new text. She looked at it, then groaned when she did, deleting it quickly after.

It was another of the same texts she had gotten for the past week. Apparently some guy's wife's number was close enough to hers because at least three times a day she got weird texts saying things like, _Hon we're out of milk_, _Hon running late, don't hold dinner, __Hon, waiting up for you_.

_Just pray this guy doesn't decide to go all John Hinkley Jr. on you, and let it go_, Artemis thought. She wasn't worried. Not really, not after growing up in Gotham's slums. She knew how to fight and fight hard. Not to mention dirty. She got up, thinking it would be polite to talk to Jackson.

"Hi", she said, sitting down in the chair opposite to him. "Hello", and with that he turned away. They sat like this for several minutes.

"Roy mentioned you're a Marine."

"Yes, I was in the service." Followed with more silence. Finally, Wally walked over, a drink in both hands. "You know, just looking at the two of you is bringing this man **down**! It's a wedding,** lighten the Hell up**!", he says while placing a glass of something in front of them both.

"Oh, uh Wally I don't-", Kaldur started to say, with Wally cutting him off. "I know Marine. Relax! There's hardly any liquor in it." Well, there hadn't been, until Wally poured half of the flask he had been taking sips from for most of the reception into both glasses. Not out spite of course. He just thought Kaldur (that's right, **Kaldur** had liked Wally enough to tell him his preferred name) deserved a chance to loosen up. And if he wasn't going to do it himself, Wally was going to help him.

As for Artemis, well, that kinda was out of spite.

This happened at least eight more times, and Artemis and Kaldur were only getting more and more hammered in their private little corner. When the reception finally ended, both found themselves alone, while the rest of the crowd went to throw rice and such at Jade and Roy while they left for their honeymoon.

"You know... I've never really cared for weddings but this one... this one..." Kaldur slurred every other word. "I know. I just, know right.", Artemis rambled. Both had the other's arm around their shoulder, trying to hold themselves upright. It was impressive how no one noticed them in their state.

"You know... you are really, really, **really** beautiful.", Kaldur slurred to Artemis. "I know." What she didn't know was that Kaldur's intoxicated mind was seeing a completely different woman. A woman with short red hair, freckles and very light blue eyes.

This was person Kaldur decided to kiss. This was the woman who kissed back. This was the woman who asked him "What hotel you staying at?" This was the woman who sat in a cab with him all the back to his hotel room, the woman who kissed him as soon as the door was closed, the woman who helped undress him and he her. This was the woman he spent the whole night pouring himself into. This was the woman he told he loved.

Until both finally passed out from the alcohol and exhaustion.


	4. Chapter 3

_One Month Later_

Kaldur was settling into his old bedroom in his parents house, having moved back in hoping that it would get him back on his feet faster. He refused to attend the mandatory therapy sessions for PTSD. He had gone to one session when he first got back. And then he left about ten minutes into it.

The shrink, named Harleen Quinzel, was clearly just out of shrink school and she had spent the first eight and a half minutes telling Kaldur, in a nasally Brooklyn accent, how honored she was to be helping him, how proud she felt, and how honored and proud Kaldur must feel to have served his country. It was obvious she had never actually **seen** a battlefield, much less ever been on one.

Besides as far as Kaldur is concerned, he is not suffering from PTSD. He is grieving. He had watched the love of his life die right in front of him, and he had been totally and completely unable to do anything.

The "love of his life" in question was a woman named Tula McCauley. Short red hair, big light blue eyes, pale skin and a spray of freckles across her nose, her good looks had caught his eye and her strong will had held it in place. He had fallen hard. Tula? Not so much because, as she explained to Kaldur, she had a fiancée back home named Garth Finn. So Kaldur respectfully backed off, though it didn't make his feelings go away.

The feelings didn't go away when he watched Tula get gunned down by enemy fire either.

His phone buzzed, bringing him back to the present. It was a message from Wally, who had accepted Kaldur as a friend from the minute they meant, saying that he, Dick, and Conner where going to go out and "have random, meaningless hookups with every good-looking lady we see", are you in? Kaldur told him no right away. He was still cringing internally from "The Morning After", as it was permanently engraved in his brain.

_*Flashback*_

_The first thing Kaldur's half conscious mind registered was light. Bright, blinding light. And pain. In his head, kinda like a chain gang was breaking rocks right in the middle of it. The second thing was the feel of carpet on his bare back, butt, and legs. The third, vague, thing was that there was something curled up against him. Not that he minded. After all the thing was warm, and soft. So he just pulled the thing closer to him, thinking about going back to sleep. _

_And then "The Thing" gave a soft, sleepy moan._

**_That _**_really got his attention. He opened his eyes, and was blinded instantly. When the spots faded away, he looked down. He saw a very beautiful woman, blonde but with very Asian features. And very naked. And very in his arms._

_Kaldur was absolutely speechless. This was not a normal thing for him. Sure, he wasn't exactly a virgin. He had had his fair share of sex in college. But those had been completely different experiences. For starters, he actually remembered the entire thing. For another, he remembered the name of the girl._

_Artemis. Artemis Crock. That was it. She is the young sister of Jade, Roy's fiancée... no, no wife. The wedding was last night. And at the reception, Wally brought them both a drink. And then another. And then another. And another and another until... that was all Kaldur could remember._

_Kaldur was really at a loss. So he got up off the floor, got dressed and left the room. He left the** building**. He spent the entire day wandering around Star City. It almost midnight by the time he returned to his hotel room. And by then, Artemis was long gone._

* * *

Meanwhile, over in Gotham City, Paula Crock had just returned from work, and she was dead tired. The only thing she wanted to do was take a shower, maybe have a little dinner, and go straight to bed.

She and Artemis had moved into a newer, much nicer apartment in a much nicer part of Gotham some three years prior, partly on their own money, partly on the money Jade had sent them, though with a little fear on that end. Paula hadn't had any contact with Jade since she ran away, and could only imagine how she got the money. Her biggest fear was it was through work as an assassin!

Now Jade was happily married to a police officer, and Artemis had graduated from college with honors three months ago, had gotten a degree in teaching, and is set for three job interviews this week, with three more the next week. In Paula's mind, things were looking up for the Crock-Nguyen women.

Paula wheeled herself to the bathroom, where she found Artemis, kneeling in front of the toilet, clearly having just thrown up.

"Artemis? Sweetheart, are you feeling alright?"

"Not really Mom," said Artemis as she got to her feet.

"Oh God, please don't have the flu!"

"I wish", Artemis stated, unconsciously placing her hand to rest on her stomach.

Paula took one look at the action and recognized it instantly.

"Oh God,** please** have the flu."

Artemis weakly, ashamely shook her head no, pushing past her mother so she could go to her room and lie down on her bed. Paula followed quickly behind.

"Why do they call it mrning sickness if it lasts through the morning?"

"Morning sickness is obviously what some lying man named it. Honey, are you absolutely sure?"

"I'm a week late, so I took a test. And when it popped positive, I took another. When that one was positive I went to see a doctor who outright said it."

Paula let this run through her mind before asking, "Who is the father?"

"You remember Jackson Hyde, Roy's best man?"

"Vaguely. It's his?"

"Yes."

"You have to tell him!"

Artemis snorted, telling her mother, "We were drunk out of our minds, and I woke up alone. I waited until seven p.m. to see if he would come back. He didn't. He hasn't tried to get in touch with me, I don't know how to get in touch with him-"

"Roy probably does", Paula interjected.

"Yeah, that's a conversation I wanna have with my new brother-in-law."

"Artemis", Paula started, holding her daughter's face in her hands so that she would look at her, "Jackson Hyde has every right to know about his child."

"I know that Mom. I don't want to be one of those spiteful one night stands that does that kind of crap. But I don't know how to tell him. Hell Mom, I didn't have the nerve to tell you!"

"While we're on that subject, I want you to know that whatever decision you make, I will stand by you."

Artemis' face softened greatly at this, telling her mother "Thank you", hugging her as tightly as she could. Both women stayed in this position throughout most of the night, only moving when their hunger for food became too great to ignore.


	5. Chapter 4

_Today is the day_, Artemis thought. _Or, I guess tonight is the night, given that's eleven p.m._ Tonight is the night Artemis had finally,_ finally_ worked up the nerve to call Jackson Hyde, to tell him she is pregnant.

Another week had passed since she found out she is pregnant. Roy and Jade had gotten back from their honeymoon three days earlier, and Artemis had asked Roy how she could contact Jackson.

_That was a fun conversation_, Artemis thought, remembering how when Roy told her Jackson's phone number, he smirked one of those annoying, smug, know-it-all smirks, like he was a rock star's manager and she was another crazy fan girl. _I should have told him why I need to call Jackson, because boy does Roy have it all wrong_.

It wasn't like this was a completely new experience. Artemis wasn't a virgin or anything, hadn't been since she was 16. Not that she'd ever,_ ever_ tell her mother. She'd never been a slut, with a new guy every night of the week. But if she had that itch, well hell, she had every right to give it a scratch didn't she? But never once had any of the guys she'd slept with every had any chance of getting her pregnant, or worse. She'd made damn sure of that.

Of course usually she hadn't of had half a bottle of vodka or schnapps or whatever the hell it was in her stomach, making its way to her brain to control every thought or action she might have made. She'd made damn sure of **that **too.

And she couldn't remember the last time she had been so scared. Not when her father died and her mother was paralyzed. Not when her family had had to move to that cheap, disgusting apartment in that crime filled neighborhood. Not when Jade ran away. Not even when she would walk back and forth to school through that crime infested neighborhood as a teenager starting to develop boobs that attracted the attention of boys and men alike.

Her phone buzzed, telling her she had another message from Hon-Guy. She didn't even read it before she deleted it, only gave a vague thought about changing her number._ Now or never Artemis. Put your big girl panties on and call the man_.

She dialed the number, half praying it would be wrong or that he wouldn't answer. Finally, there was an answer.

"Hello?" He sounded wide awake, even though it was late at night.

"Hello, uh Jackson Hyde? This is Artemis. Artemis Crock. We... met, at my sister's wedding?"

"Of course. I remember." There was silence on his end.

"I'd like to talk to you. As soon as possible. Can we meet sometime?"

"Of... of course. Do you know of The Java Hut? It is Star City."

"I know where it is. Thursday afternoon?"

"I can make it."

"Great. I'll see you then."

* * *

Thursday arrived way too fast for Artemis' liking. She was sitting at one of the tables outside of The Java Hut, a local coffee shop in Star City, waiting for Jackson Hyde with an undrunk coffee sitting in front of her, and trying her absolute best not to throw up. She wasn't really sure if it was nerves or the baby that made her sick.

_The baby. Ah Hell. **Ah Hell**. There is a person growing inside of me._ The feeling never really seemed to hit her as much as it did in that moment. And yet... it wasn't exactly a bad feeling. Sure she was afraid. Mostly of being a mother at 21. Of doing something wrong and hurting the baby. But not of the pregnancy, or the baby itself. Whatever her mother might have thought, she realized the word "abortion" never actually crossed her mind.

Actually, now that she really did think about, there were a lot of feelings running through her. Most of them kinda warm and fuzzy. Artemis realized that, whatever Jackson Hyde might want, she wanted the baby. She _loved_ it. Already.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Jackson Hyde, clearly embarassed, clearly uncomfortable, pulling back the chair across from hers and sitting down.

"Hello."

"Uh, hi."

The silence that followed stretched far and wide.

"How are you doing?", Artemis asked, having noted that Jackson's eyes were shadowed, like he hasn't been sleeping so good, recalling how awake he had seemed when she had called him despite the late hour.

"I am well... enough. Artemis, is there a particular reason why you wanted to meet with me?"

"Yes. Do you, remember, after the wedding, how you and I...?" She let the sentence trail off, unable to finish. Jackson blushes and quickly replies "Yes."

"Well, you see, I think you have every right to know..." She left it at that, clearly trying to think of an easy way to say the words.

"To know what?", he asks, looking at her kind of afraid now.

_Great. Just great. He probably thinks your about to say you have herpes or something. Just say it!_

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

**_Now I know this is short, but it's all I got. Reviews r welcomed!_**


	6. Chapter 5

**_For the record, I myself find this chapter kinda melodramatic. And I think I make Kaldur sound kinda creepy. Just warning_ _you_. _By the by, O Θεός μου, basically means OMG._**

_I'm pregnant._

It was running through Kaldur's mind over and over on an endless loop. _Pregnant. I got her pregnant. She is having my baby. O Θεός μου. _The only way to describe the look on his face was to compare it to a flounder or a trout caught on a hook.

Artemis was waiting to see if he would -or could- say something. Finally, she simply said "I just thought you should know. Don't worry, I don't expect anything", throwing down a 5 for the undrunk coffee sitting in front of her, getting up and walking away. "I'll let you know if it's a boy or a girl. You can see him or her if you want."

Her words didn't really register to Kaldur, but seeing her getting up and walking away did. So he followed after her.

"Artemis wait! Wait, wait a minute, slow down!", grabbing her arm so that he could turn her to look at him. Then he fully realized what she said. "What do you mean you do not expect anything?"

Artemis gave Kaldur a look that clearly said she thought he was an idiot. "I woke up alone, in a hotel room. I waited for you to come back, hoping to talk about...**it**. And I admit, I was a little hurt that you didn't. I didn't mean for it to happen, and I don't think you did either. But you know what, it **did**. And, as far as I know, you never tried to get a hold of me. So, yeah, I don't really expect anything from you. Not that I _need_ anything from you."

Kaldur's face lost the fish on a hook-look, becoming more and more incredulous. And more and more angry. Too bad he just couldn't get the words out.

Seeing this, Artemis took the chance to wrench her arm from his grasp, grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper from her purse and wrote her number and address on it, telling him "Look, clearly this isn't a good time to talk to you. Call this number when you piece your brain back together", shoving the paper in the front pocket of his jacket and walked away.

And Kaldur let her.

* * *

Artemis was driving herself back to Gotham, replaying the whole thing in her head and feeling kinda stupid** for** replaying the whole thing in her head, like this was the breakup scene in some cheesy romance movie. And she **hated **cheesy romance movies.

She had practiced what she would say to Jackson, and mentioning that she had been hurt when he hadn't come back to the room to talk had not been a part of what she planned to say. That just kind of popped out, to her surprise as well as his.

What surprised her more was that, as she thought it over, it was true. She had been hurt. And it wasn't like this was the first time a boy she had had sex with walked out of the room before she woke up, without ever talking to her after. In fact, sometimes **Artemis** had been the one to walk out before her partner awoke, then never gave him a second thought afterwards.

_Then why is this eating at you so bad, huh?,_ the nasty little voice in her head asked her. _And why are you upset that he didn't walk after you again, huh? You were glad when he did it the first time._

"Shut the Hell up." Artemis told that voice.

* * *

Another week passed, and Kaldur was still in a state of shock. He didn't take calls from his friends. He didn't leave his bedroom. He ate sure, he talked back to his parents if they talked to him first, and he slept (when the nightmares didn't jolt him awake), but otherwise, Kaldur was in his own world. A world he kinda liked.

He had never really pictured himself as a father before. Sure,** someday**, when he was much older. And after meeting Tula, he thought that the mother of his children would be red-haired and blue-eyed, as would his children.

But now, now he saw a different picture. One where his child was a blonde, more of a golden blonde than his own white-blonde, with a very tan complexion, and dark, almost black eyes.

_That is, of course, assuming your child's mother will let you see it. She said she would but Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned_, the dark part of his mind told him. And Kaldur kinda agreed with it.

Artemis had told him that she didn't expect anything from him, and that she had been hurt by his actions. He not meant to hurt her. He had thought she was stunning at the reception, and was a little awed by her, having met her a few times at the rehearsals and such. She was beautiful, and she seemed to do and say everything without fear or care of what others might think her, pretty much Kaldur's near opposite.

_They do say opposites attract._

"Be quiet."

"Kaldur'ahm? Who are you talking to?" His mother, Sha'lain'a, stood in the door frame, looking at him with worry.

"Myself mother. Please, come in."

She did, making herself comfortable on his bed before getting to the question that had been on her mind for a while now. "Kaldur'ahm, what is troubling you?"

Kaldur thought about lying, then dismissed that thought immediately after. _She's your mother. Mother's are human lie detector's. _

"Do you remember when I left for Roy's wedding a month ago?"

Sha'lain'a nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"At the reception, I met a woman. A woman I... spent the night with. She... she is... she is pregnant."

His mother's gasp almost made him stop. Almost.

"Two weeks ago, she called and asked to meet with me. When we met, she told she is pregnant, and that she does not expect anything, nor does she need anything. Not from me."

Sha'lain'a was still on the whole pregnant thing, like Kaldur had first been. Kaldur continued on anyway.

"And now that I think about what she said, it... **hurts**. I'm hurt that she does not expect anything from me. I mean, I know most men would be happy, and living it up-"

"You are not most men," Sha'lain'a interjected. "Your father and I have raised you to be there and help others. That this girl-"

"Artemis", Kaldur said.

"That Artemis does not, especially since it concerns your child, **would** be painful."

At this point, Kaldur had a kind of kicked puppy look, so Sha'lain'a simply said " You **have** to talk to Artemis. Make it plain that you are not going anywhere. Do you have a phone number or an address for her?"

"Yes."

"Good. Use one or both of them. **Soon**."

Kaldur could literally feel his pain going numb, like his mother's words where an anesthetic. Well, at least until she said "You know we also have to tell your father."

That brought him back to Earth. "I am calling Artemis first. And I'm telling her if she does not hear back from me, to tell the police it was my father."


	7. Chapter 6

_Thwak. Thwak._ One after another, an arrow hit dead center into its respective target.

Artemis was currently at an archery range, blowing off steam. She'd always liked archery, always been good at it. She'd even been on the archery team, taking a lot of cracks about her name, in her high school, winning a lot of gold, and sometimes silver, for her team. Now it mostly a hobby, one Artemis was very, very good at.

Artemis was pissed off because a week had passed and Jackson still hasn't tried to get in touch with her. **Again**. And she was pissed off that **that** is what pissed her off.

You see, Artemis is not the kind of woman to wait around for some man to bother to remember to give her phone a ring every now and then. And she usually didn't bother to be the one to call them, like she is right now with Jackson. But she did think that Jackson would at least want to know about his baby.

When Roy had introduced them at the first wedding rehearsal, he had caught her attention, in a way no guy ever had before. For one thing, he was sexy as all hell. She had never seen a man of mixed heritage so sexy before. For another, he behaved politely and perfectly, like an old timey gentleman. He opened doors for others, he pulled out chairs for the womem sitting next to him.

He just seemed so... so... _noble. _**D****efinitely** not like any guy Artemis had ever known.

_Obviously he's not as noble as you thought he was._ Artemis took aim at the center of the target again, this time imagining it was Jackson's face and feeling great pride when it hit dead center.

* * *

Later when she returned home, her mother told her she had a message from Jackson, asking her to call him back as soon as possible and leaving a phone number to let her do so. She tried to squash down the little veins of pleasure weaving their way through her and failed miserably. At least she managed not to show the pleasure on her face. She just thought about tossing his number in the trash.

_Don't be a complete and total bitch,_ her brain said,_ you don't even know what he wants to talk about. But you **can** wait a bit to call back._

And she. Well, until 10 p.m. anyway. The call went like this.

"Hello?"

"Jackson?"

"Yes, Artemis, hello."

Silence. For like 3 minutes.

"Jackson did you want something?"

"I thought... I hoped, that we could speak to each other sometime."

"So speak."

"In person."

Artemis half thought about saying how busy she was, at least until the other half of her brain said_ bitch_.

"When?"

Jackson set the date for the following Sunday, again at The Java Hut.

* * *

After that it was pretty much deja vou for Artemis. Again, Sunday arrived way to fast for her liking. Again, she was sitting at a table outside of The Java Hut, waiting on Jackson Hyde to show up and kinda hoping he wouldn't, again, a coffee just sitting in front of her untouched because of how sick she felt, again either because of sheer nerves or the baby.

She decided to turn her thoughts to her baby instead. Lately they were what made her happiest.

Artemis liked the sound of it. Her baby.

Last night she told her friends about her pregnancy. Their reactions were surprised but the none the less happy for her. Zatanna hugged her, Megan, who first suspected pregnancy, couldn't stop smiling, hugging her and promised to decorate a nursery for her, and Rocket clapped her on the shoulder and welcomed her to motherhood, Rocket having had a son by an ex-boyfriend when she was 18.

Megan had talked about dressing it up in all kind of cute clothes and taking it for walks and such. It was only love for her oldest friend, her "sister", that kept Artemis from telling her how she made it sound like Artemis was having a toy poodle instead of a baby.

Zatanna would be godmother. No question. Even if it was her grandchild, Artemis didn't think it fair to burden her mother with her baby in her condition. If Rocket was going to take care of another child it shouldn't be someone else's, and while her baby might want for nothing with Megan, Zatanna just felt right.

Having lost her own mother when she was young, Zatanna would be the best to take care of her baby if something happened to Artemis, aside from Paula herself. She briefly thought about telling Jade. It wasn't like the older woman hadn't seen it all and then some before. She probably wouldn't even bat an eyelash.

Again, her thoughts were taken when Jackson took the chair opposite to her.

"Hi."

"Hello."

Silence. Artemis was starting to see how this was kinda his thing.

"You wanted to talk? With me?"

"Yes. And please do not interrupt me because I might not have the courage to finish." Jackson took a breath before he continued. "I am sorry. For that day. I did not mean to hurt you and I am sorry that I have. But you have to understand how **surprised** I was. I feel I took advantage of you and I apologize for that. And whether you want it or not, I** will **help you, and I will be there **to** help you."

Artemis mulled over this, pointed out "I was just as drunk as you were you know."

Jackson nodded and said "And if I had not been and you were, that night would not have happened at all."

Artemis swallowed her pride, nearly choked to death on it, and finally said "Okay. I accept whatever you might offer. **Strictly** for the sake of our baby. We don't have to get married, we don't have to move in with each other. Hell, we don't even have to** like** each other. We just have to care for the baby."

Jackson looked a little dissapointed at her words, then finally nodded and said "Agreed."

* * *

_**A little heads up, I'm gonna skip ahead a few months in the next chapters. Probably. I find great pleasure in reading reviews:).**_


	8. Chapter 7

Artemis was now roughly 3 and a half months pregnant. And she was feeling it. She spent most of her mornings and nights throwing up the contents of her stomach, which was a hell of a lot of different foods because she ate in between throwing up. Her sleeping habits were off, mostly because she got up to throw up or pee. The smallest thing set her off, either causing her to tear up and cry or pissing her off to the point that she wanted to throw the nearest object.

She was gaining weight, or better said the muscle in her abdomen that she worked rigorously to keep sharp and firm was just barely starting to soften up. Her mother and her friends all said she was starting to "glow", whatever the hell that meant.

As promised, last week Megan started taking measurements of the "guest" bedroom (the word "guest" being used for lack of a better word. The Crock women hadn't had guests to need a guest room for years) in the Crock apartment to later turn it into a nursery, saying she'd give them a rough estimate of the whole shebang afterwards. Jackson also promised to put up half the money for it, against Artemis' protests. The week before that, Rocket brought over some of her son's old baby clothes.

She and Jackson, on the suggestion of Jackson, made it a point to talk at least once a week. Sometimes on the phone, by email, even at The Java Hut. And not about anything important, not really. Both just thought it was a good idea to better know the person who created their child. For example, the others favorite music genre (Jackson, smooth jazz, Artemis, any kind), the others favorite band (Artemis, Dead by April, Jackson, The Thing), the others favorite color (Jackson, blue, Artemis, purple), hell the others middle name.

Jackson had even decided to tell Artemis his prefered name. And Artemis had to admit, she liked it. Kaldur'ahm. Kaldur. She definitely couldn't say she'd ever heard it before.

Always, they talked about the baby. What they hoped it would be (Artemis joked human. Kaldur said healthy but Artemis suspected a boy. The father always wants a boy). Baby names (they finally agreed Charlotte Rose for a girl, and Lawrence David for a boy). What it would look like (Kaldur hoped like it's mother).

They never brought up the more sensitive, personal things. Kaldur never talked about Tula or her death, and constantly jumped at random loud noises.

Artemis might have mentioned her father was dead, but she never brought up how, or how that it nearly broke her family, or that she was getting scared because 2 weeks ago Hon-guy had amped up his game from texting her every day to sending her letters detailing their life together along with a picture of her in a lot of places. Driving in her car, talking with Kaldur, her through her bedroom window.

Today, today Kaldur wanted to approach a more sensitive subject with Artemis: he wanted to ask her to move into an apartment with him. It didn't seem like such a big deal to Kaldur. A smart idea, actually. Easier than Artemis driving for an hour up to Star City every week. Same for Kaldur driving down into Gotham. Especially when the baby was born.

"You know I mentioned to Jade that I was coming into Star City today and she begged me not to," Artemis told Kaldur.

Kaldur mused over this before asking "Why not?"

"I don't know, Roy's got her scared because of some case of his. Doesn't like to let her out of his sight for to long. It'll be fun to see how long Jade puts up with it."

Kaldur let this run through his mind before asking what had been on it for a while now.

"Artemis?"

"Hm?" She was taking a sip of her coffee.

"I have been wondering... perhaps, it would be best if you and I... moved in... together."

Artemis' eyes got kinda big. She had to admit she had considered it... for all of 2 seconds. It would solve a lot of problems for the both of them. But... **something** just held her back. Something about Kaldur.

How he jumped at loud noises and then pretended like nothing happened. How he was almost always awake no matter how late at night she called. How he always seemed to hold himself away from Artemis. How he always seemed nervous, his eyes darting around at any given moment. He made Artemis nervous. Artemis hadn't wanted to doubt him, but she wanted to know her baby would safe. She had every right to, didn't she?

So, Artemis looked up information about PTSD. And Kaldur fit a lot of the signs.

"Kaldur... I don't think that's such a good idea."

He looked a little hurt. "Why not? It would be much easier on the both of us."

"Yes, yes it would but... Kaldur, I just don't think it's a good idea."

"**Why not?**"

"Because you make me nervous, alright. You make me nervous when you almost jump out of your pants when you hear a truck backfire. You make me nervous when, no matter how late at night it is, your awake enough to take my calls. Sometimes** you** call **me**."

Kaldur looked confused and incredulous at the same time. That was tough to do. "The significance of those things is...?"

Artemis rummaged through her purse, having printed out some of the information she had found, handing to him when she found it. She let him read it over before saying, "I'm not trying to imply anything that might not be true. I just think that if it is true, you should get some help."

Kaldur just kinda skimmed over the pages, getting angrier and angrier as he did so. Finally he said "Well I apologize that you had to waste your time on something that has absolutely no basis in my life.", getting up from the table and walking away. Artemis sat there... hurt. She didn't have any other word for how she felt right then. She was tearing up. She was hurt at his reaction. She wasn't really sure why, she just thought that maybe he loved her enough to-

_Whoa whoa whoa! Love? Did you hear yourself just now? Do you love the guy who knocked you up? The guy who just got pissy with you because you wanted to help him?_

It was the harsh, real part of her brain again. And again, it was right. If Kaldur loved anyone sitting across from him it would be the baby in her belly. Not her. And it was only the hormones that told her otherwise. She sat at that table until she calmed down, which took until 6 o'clock. She paid for her coffee and walked to her car.

And that's when things all went straight to hell.

Artemis was walking to her car. She didn't pay any attention to the sound of someone walking very close behind her. At least, not until a rag giving off a sickly sweet smell was shoved over her mouth and nose. After that, well she was unconscious. She wasn't able to pay attention to getting dragged into another car and being driven out of Star City.

* * *

_**I enjoy cupcakes and reviews. I accept either. By the by, Dead by April is an acutal band. Listen to them on YouTube. They are my favorite band. Well, of the month anyway:)**_


	9. Chapter 8

_You are an ass. _It's the day after Kaldur's fight with Artemis. And it's that cruel part of Kaldur's brain again. And it's right. Again. _A pathetic, selfish, cruel ass._ _She did not mean you any harm. She feared for the safety of herself and your child._ True. All of it true. What's also true is that he knows Artemis was right. However much he'd like to, he can't ignore the facts. _You should apologize._ And he would. And hope that that would be enough for Artemis.

His phone rang. He didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hello? Jackson Hyde?"

It was a woman's voice, with an Asian accent to it.

"Yes?"

"This is Artemis' mother. Paula? Artemis gave me your number for emergencies."

Her name rings a bell. "Yes hello. Can I help you?"

"Is Artemis there? If she is tell her she may want to stay there because mother might kill her. " She's trying to seem calm, but worry and a little desperation tinge her voice. It catches Kaldur's attention.

"No Mrs. Crock. Is something wrong?"

There's a kinda strangled sob before she answers. "Her bed hasn't been slept in, her car is not here, and she's not answering her phone. She **always** takes my calls."

That **really** catches Kaldur's attention. "Mrs. Crock... Artemis and I had a fight yesterday. Perhaps she is staying with a friend."

"But I called all of her friends and her sister. They all say that she isn't with them either." Then she fully catches what he said. "Why did you fight with my daughter?"

"It is not important. Mrs. Crock, I will be over soon. Call Roy or have Jade tell him. I don't know what he can do just yet but it can not hurt."

* * *

When Artemis first wakes up, she thinks she's in her room. It looks exactly like her room. Until she realizes that she's handcuffed to the headboard and her feet tied to the footboard.

And that she's not wearing the same jeans, t-shirt, and boots she was before. Instead she's wearing some pale pink skirt and sweater set Megan would usually wear. And heels. She **definitelt****y** doesn't wear heels.

And then she notices the pictures on the walls. Pictures she doesn't remember posing for. Of her and some guy. Her in a wedding dress and the guy in a tux. Her and the guy on a beach.

The guy is really, **really** pale, so pale his skin seems to have a bluish tint, with white, white blonde hair. His eyes are like ice. And she has absolutely no idea who he is.

* * *

Artemis' apartment is very nice. Though, Kaldur really only half notices. What he really notices is that Paula is even more distraught now than she was on the phone. Apparently it has something to do with the letter she's got clasped in her hand. She can't even talk, just pushes it into his hand.

He kinda skims over it, and his skin involuntarily starts to crawl with every word. It's a love letter to Artemis. And it's just, just... **disturbing**.

It's telling Artemis how soon her life and the life of the writer's together will begin. It also gives details of Artemis' day. From getting up in the morning to her meetings with him. It also has a picture, of Artemis, clearly taken from a distance. It also gets angrier, demanding to know the identity of the guy (he can just imagine who it is) Artemis has been talking with, threatening him.

Kaldur does the only thing he can think of. He looks over to Paula and tells he "We are giving this to Roy."

* * *

She can't say for sure what time it is. Late morning at most. And she's kinda hungry. Finally, the guy from the pictures walks through the door. He smiles when he sees Artemis.

"Hi honey. " His voice is high, and cold.

Artemis is more than a little freaked right now. "Are you the one who's been texting me?"

He walks over to sit next to her on the bed, and starts stroking her neck. "Of course. Your my wife."

"You changed my clothes?"

"Don't you like your new outfit?" He seems genually concerned, like **that's** the biggest problem right now. Artemis does the only thing she can think of. She plays along.

"Yes. I love pink. And ruffles. And kitten heels."

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Good. You look so beautiful."

"Um, my wrists are kind of sore can we loosen the cuffs a little?"

He jumps away from her then. "Oh you are smart. No! I'm gonna go get lunch for us."

He leans over and kisses Artemis' lips before he goes. He doesn't notice how she doesn't kiss back, if anything she tries to pull away.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Roy's precinct, he is walking through the front doors to tell his mother-in-law, his wife, and for some reason his best friend that he got prints back on the letter sent to Artemis. They notice him as soon as he walks in.

Jade is the first to talk. "Roy! Anything?"

"Yes. We got a match in the system for the prints lifted off of Artemis' letter." He really doesn't want to elaborate. Too bad that's not enough for Jade. "Well?"

He kind of sighs in defeat, and brings it up on his computer. A mug shot of a pale guy named Cameron Mahkent Jr. No one recognizes him.

"This is Cameron Mahkent Jr. He served eight years for stalking and maiming."

Paula looses her breath at the maiming part, and holds onto Jade's hand like it's an anchor. "What else?"

"Jr. often has erotomanic delusional disorders. Basically that means he thinks that a person, sometimes a complete stranger is in love with him."

"So this guy thinks Artemis is in love with him?" Jade's voice is sharp.

"Yes."

This time Kaldur cuts in. "Do you have an address for him?" Roy shakes his head. "An old one." Just then Wally and Dick run in.

"I've been going through Jr's financials. He bought a ton of computer equipment recently. Including a webcam. With a little luck, Dick here can use an inmap to run a port scan."

"Is this gonna find my sister, yes or no?"

Wally and Dick share a look with each, the kind of look that says they don't really want to share. "Maybe. Give him a few minutes."

It feels like an eternity before Dick says "I'm in. He's sending this feed to his work address so he can watch it whenever."

The feed comes on the computer, and Paula nearly has a heart attack when she see her daughter, bound to a bed. Especially when she sees how familiar it is. "That's her bedroom!"

* * *

_**I enjoy reviews:)**_


	10. Chapter 9

Jr. comes back in the room. He notices Artemis looking around the room. He sighs in apology and says "I couldn't see everything in your bedroom. So I figured as long as I got it close. Are the sheets ok?"

"Their fine. You know I don't remember having you over."

"You know the building across the street? If you go up the fire escape you can see through your window. Especially when you leave the curtains open." He gives a manic laugh at Artemis' shocked look. He follows her gaze to the picture she's currently eyeballing. It's of him and Artemis, lying belly down in ocean water. He gives a kind of happy sigh, like he's remembering good times.

"You remember Hawaii?"

"You know we never went to Hawaii."

He goes all psycho on her then, shouting "**Yes we did**!" He giggles right after, saying "We had our honeymoon there. We kayaked, you went surfing for the first time, we went to that all-you-can-eat luau with the pig, remember?"

_Lie, _she thinks.

"Yes, I remember."

Except he doesn't believe her. He points his finger in her face and says "Liar. Don't play me. We didn't go to a luau. Don't be like that doctor I had to go see."

She's **definitely** a little freaked out now. "You talked about me to a therapist?"

"Of course I did! I'm allowed to talk about my wife aren't I."

Artemis mumbles "Yeah right", and he grabs her face and shouts "Damn right!" He pulls back right after, like he's never done that kind of thing before. "Oh baby, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that, I'm sorry."

He cuddles up into her side, nuzzling his face into her neck.

Over in the station, everyone watching is either having a stroke, an aneurysm, or getting sick in horror. Dick states "She's trying to make him stay in the fantasy. That's good."

Kaldur asks "And if he comes out of he fantasy?" He doesn't answer. That pretty much confirms it with Kaldur. "Please, find her."

"He's live-streaming. But he's smart, he's hiding the IP address."

Roy can't hold it back anymore. He wants to know what Kaldur is doing here. He walks him out of the precinct, where it's more private.

"Alright man, what's the deal. How do you know my new sister-in-law?"

Kaldur thinks about lying, then regrets it. Roy is his friend. There is no reason to lie to him. If anything the information might help. "Artemis is pregnant. With my baby." Roy does pretty much what everyone has done. His eyes get big and he doesn't talk. He does kinda stutter. Finally he says "I'm telling you right now, I'm going to be all happy about it and make a ton of jokes about this later. Much later. First let's get Artemis back home safe." Kaldur agrees.

Back with Artemis, she's surprised when the guy walks over to a computer that's showing her on its screen. Her as in her the way she is right at this moment. Wearing the ridiculous outfit, tied to the bed. She looks around before she sees the small camera attached to the fake chandelier above the bed. This is just when Roy and Kaldur walk back in.

"She sees the camera." That's Kaldur's relieved statement.

"Honey, I love computers, just like you."

"I couldn't use them for a long time but I read about them at Belle Reve Pen. Did you miss me?"

"Yes, yes I did."

He kinda laughs. "No you didn't. I wasn't there because of you! I was there because of Tuppence! I will always love her."

This gets Paula's fear. "What happened to Tuppence?"

A quick search and Wally answers, "He threw acid in her face." Paula starts crying in her corner.

"Hey, honey, wouldn't it be a fun idea if we went on tv to tell everyone about our marriage?"

"That's only for me! No else can watch you!"

"Where do you watch me?"

He doesn't answer, just asks her "Are you ready for lunch yet?" She nods yes. When he's gone she turns her attention to the camera.

_"Dick."_ It's more than a little shock when the crowd watching realizes exactly who she's talking to.

_"Dick come on. If you as good as Zatanna's been saying you are then I know you can see me right now. Please find me."_

"Dick?"

"Roy, man, I need more information!"

Artemis takes a minute to get a sense of her surroundings.

_"I hear um... airplanes. Probably close to an airport. Maybe half a mile. And I hear.. a.. a warning bell."_

It brings up the only place Roy can think of. "Morgan Avenue drawbridge."

_"I smell fish."_ Unfortunately its little help.

"Roy?"

"We need more Jade, there are hundreds of buildings in that area."

"Well, what about the room itself?"

It gives Wally some thought. "That's not half bad. Dick bring up the radiator in the window frame?" He does. A good look tells Wally everything he needs to know.

"That's a cast iron radiator, manufactured in 1890 in a wooden window frame from the same era."

"So we're looking for a building from the 1890's?"

Roy is dismissive of the idea. "By the processing plants? They've all been torn down. We might not even be close."

"Hold on I got something. A building on Lancaster street, built in 1891."

"That's it. Dick, text Conner and let's go."

Jade, Paula, and Kaldur all move to follow them. It's Wally who notices and stops them. "You can't go. Just, let my friends take care of this." It's crap reassurance to them, but none of them can do much of anything about it.

It's about 10 minutes later. Jr. is trying to force-fed Artemis.

"Come on, just eat!"

"No thank you. I'd rather feed myself."

"Fine! Starve then." He's clearly pissed now. "I heard you talking, I know you were talking to some one."

_"Honey I was talking to myself."_

Jade can't remember the last time she was this afraid. Doing nothing while having to watch her baby sister suffer through this. "Don't hurt her."

"I'm going to make sure that you don't look at anyone, or talk to anyone, **ever again**."

And that's when things go to hell. Again. The door flies in. And then it's just a mix of voices. Though one thing stands out.

"Star City police!"

**_I enjoy reviews:)_**


	11. Chapter 10

It's been a week since "the incident", as Artemis calls it in an attempt at joking. It's also been a week since Kaldur has seen Artemis in person. He's talked to her, sure, but he hasn't** seen** her. And it's freaking him the hell out. It's also freaking him the hell out that he can't really explain why he's so freaked out.

He saw her last when Roy brought her to the hospital. There was nothing wrong with her, not physically at least. Her ankles and wrists were a little raw from the restraints but that was the extent of it. And there was also no visible harm to the baby. Artemis even made light of things, saying that the worst part of the entire ordeal were the clothes Jr. had changed her into, joking about their "marriage" and their "honeymoon" pictures.

So he wasn't really sure why he was currently in his car just outside of Gotham City, his destination being Artemis' apartment. He also wasn't really sure what he would do when he got there. He just knew that this burning need to see her wouldn't stop until he saw her.

* * *

Lucky for him, Artemis was alone in her apartment. And it had taken some effort. Her mother didn't like the idea of leaving her alone, but one of her girl friends had some certificate for a group spa weekend thing in the upper part of Star City, and they needed one more woman. It was only when Artemis pointed out that she'd be better able to watch her when she was well-rested and relaxed that she willingly went, making Artemis promise to call her once a day if Paula didn't call first.

Plus Artemis unplugged all the phones and turned off her cellphone. Jade had been calling her all week, pissed that she was the last to know her "baby sister" is pregnant. Apparently Kaldur had told Roy, who in turn told Jade. Both had taken it surprisingly well. Mostly because Jade remarked that her baby was going to be cuter, leading her to tell them that she was pregnant, about a month or so, to Roy's surprise as well as the surprise of her mother and sister.

Her friends had also been calling. Every time she left the apartment, there one or all of them were, ready to take her out shopping, or to breakfast or brunch or lunch, careful to talk about everything but "the incident", all the while being careful never to let her far from their collective sight.

Today, today she just wanted to be alone, stretched out on the couch, her only company being junk food and movies of various genres. She only got up when she had to pee or throw up. She wasn't wearing makeup, her hair was in this messy bun with pieces falling all around her face, and she only dressed in her ragged pajamas. Not exactly fit for human company.

So you could say she was a little surprised, and royally annoyed, when at about 8 o'clock at night she heard a knock on her door. You could imagine her even greater surprise when she opened it and found Kaldur on the other side of it.

"Kaldur? Is anything wrong?" The look on his face was... the only way to describe it was utter bewilderment, like he didn't even really know what he was doing there. Which he didn't. What he did know was that the minute he saw her, that burning need took a trip down south on his body.

"Yes... no? Uh... is your mother home?"

"No."

"Good." Then he kissed her.

Not just any kiss. The kind of kiss every girl has a wet dream about. The kind that's mostly teeth and tongue clashing together like two titans. The kind that makes her pulse race, her knees go weak, and her thoughts evaporate like they never existed to begin with. The kind that even a Catholic nun knows is gonna led to sex.

Did Artemis want to just lean into this kiss, without any thought to later repercussions? Obviously you didn't just read the sentence above. But she didn't. She tried to pull away and speak, for all the good it did her.

"Kaldur we really shou-"

"Later." As far as Kaldur was concerned, everything could wait later. He took her mouth back like he owned it. Artemis didn't mean to just melt back into it; but hey, she's human. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him.

He pulled away so he could close and lock her door. When he turned, she turned the tables on him. She pulled him back like they never parted, using her tongue to push past his lips to meet his. He lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist and pushed her back against the door, pulling her hair free of the elastic band holding it back, running his fingers through it. It seemed like an eternity that they stayed in this place.

Finally, Kaldur pulled her away to walk them to her bedroom. He laid her down on her bed, pulled away briefly to take off his shirt. He slipped his hands up Artemis' shirt to her breasts, alternating between molding and massaging them with his hands to tweaking and pinching her nipples until she was forced to pull away from his lips to gasp for air.

But don't worry, she made it even. Kaldur didn't notice her hands dipping lower and lower on his body until she was stroking where he was aching against his jeans for her. So, he decided **he'd** make it even. One hand left her breast and coasted down her abdomen, past the waistband of her sweats and brushes down the front of her panties.

And God, she's already wet for him. Very rarely had a guy actually taken the time to get her turned on. Of course, usually there wasn't much about the guy to get turned on about. The realization makes Artemis wonders if this was what that night was like.

Kaldur runs his fingers up and down her panties, earning him small, shaky breathes from Artemis. So he does it again, this time using more pressure and pulling his fingers away when she pushes her hips up to meet them.

And she tries to voice her frustration about this. "Kaldur if you don't-". But Kaldur chooses that moment to slide her sweats and panties down and off of her legs. She's still processing that when Kaldur brushes his fingers over her sex and rubs her moisture around. Then he dips one finger shallowly into her, pulls it out, then pushes two more in a little deeper.

Artemis isn't sure whether to get frustrated or just take it. So she does both. She lets his hand do his magic on her, but when he leans back down to kiss her, she pulls away to move to his throat and jaw, partly kissing, partly licking, partly biting. It seems needless to say that now Kaldur is the one loosing his voice. So, once again, he decides to get even.

He starts moving from her mouth down to her body, kissing it as he goes, careful to cover every inch of skin. When he gets to his destination, he spreads her legs a little wider and presses kisses inside her thighs, outside her thighs, along her waist, stopping to dip his tongue into her belly button, basically everywhere except where she was aching for him. And he can tell how annoyed she's getting, so before she can say so, he licks up her center. That gets him more of Artemis' shaky breaths. It's only when he flicks at her clit with his tongue that she finds her voice, all but shouting his name. When he closes his mouth on her clit, she **really** gets her voice back.

And he gets that they should probably keep it quiet, not wanting the world to know their business. Except right then, he could care less. He wants to hear her. The thought makes him wonder if this was what that night was like.

So he sucks her clit again, thrusts his tongue into her while she moves her hips for more stimulation, all the while saying his name like some kind of mantra. It's only interrupted when she finally comes.

Kaldur moves himself back up Artemis' body, stopping to kiss her mouth, smiling when he hears the moans she makes at tasting herself on his tongue and when he presses against her so she can feel how hard he is for her.

He doesn't give much thought when he pulls himself away to unzip and take off his jeans and underwear, and she takes the chance to take off her t-shirt. He moves to position himself back over her, taking the moment to admire... no, to **bask** in her beauty.

Right now, with her hair tangled and wild around her face, her eyes half-closed, her flawless body covered in a light sheen of sweat. Her's was the body currently carrying and caring for his child, the most fragile of armors protecting two of the people he cares for most in this world, admire just isn't a strong enough word. He almost doesn't feel worthy when he leans back down to kiss her lips.

Artemis doesn't give much thought to reaching between them to brush her hand up and down his length and bring him closer to her entrance. He takes this hand and intertwines his fingers with hers and holds it down to the mattress, does the same with the other, kissing her while he slowly enters, then sinks himself in all at once, making her gasp out. And then he's thrusting down into her while she's thrusting up to meet him, only breaking their kissing when one or both has to gasp for air before resuming the kiss. At some point he releases one of her hands so that he can use his to reach between them and rub her clit.

They kiss even harder when Artemis climaxes, her walls clenching around him causing him to come not long after. Afterwards, their kissing is kind of weak, and they only do it once or twice more before Kaldur rests his head in the crook of Artemis' shoulder, occasionally kissing the skin there while one hand toys with her hair, stretched out over her like a blanket, and with her running a hand over his head and shaved hair, practically massaging his head, both a little lost for words.

Do either think that what just happened had been a good idea? Not really. Do both know that they're gonna have to talk about it later? Absolutely. But do either regret it, even a little bit? Not in the slightest.

Kaldur isn't sure what makes him ask the question after a time like they just had. But he does anyway.

"Artemis, would you please consider moving in with me?"

Artemis is a little caught off guard. She just caught sight of her alarm clock telling her that it's just after midnight. So, she says the only thing that comes to mind.

"Okay."


	12. Chapter 11

Artemis is now five and a half months pregnant, her belly becoming just a little rounder every day, and she's craving rather different foods than normal. And at least once a week for the rest of the month, Kaldur ended up staying over in her apartment. In her bed.

Starting not long after their "tryst", at first it was purely innocent, because they also spent almost every day of the month on the computer in her apartment looking for a house for the two of them and the baby, with Kaldur leaving by 6 or 7 o'clock.

So far the only thing about the house that they could agree on was that it would be in the five times cleaner, ten times safer, Star City, with a yard for the baby and that Megan, whom Kaldur privately declared infintely sweet after meeting her on one of the days when she came by the Crock apartment at least twice a week to help them cook and clean, to spare the often tired Paula and Artemis, could have free rein when it came to decorating it.

Anyway, after about a week of this, one day they lost all track of time, and of the weather, only looking up from the computer when they heard thunder crashing, and realized it was 8 o'clock. Paula refused to let Kaldur leave in such bad conditions, saying they had a perfectly good guest room and that his parents would understand. So he agreed.

And when Artemis got up late in the night to pee, she heard muttering and crying from the guest room. So, she thought it was only natural that she went in, though, she found it a little unnatural to see a grown man tossing and turning in his sleep, breathing heavily with tears running down his face. It wasn't anything personal. It just seemed so wrong to witness someone's personal grief. So she woke him up. And that took some doing.

"Kaldur?" Her voice was just a whisper. She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a little shake. And it didn't do a damn thing. So she gave her second try a little more force.

"Kaldur! Wake up!" Her shakes became small tremors. It took a few more minutes of this before his eyes flew open and his hand shot out to grip her wrist in a death grip. It seemed to take him a minute to remember where he was (and who he was with), and he released her wrist. He was panting heavily, shaking and covered in sweat, like he'd just finished running a marathon, and it took him a few more minutes before he could speak.

"I'm... sorry. Are you alright."

"I... I guess. Are **you **okay?"

"I... I suppose." He covered his face with his hands. Artemis had no idea what to do. She'd never been great with the more sensitive emotions. Her friends figured that out early on. So she did what she felt best.

She made Kaldur scoot over on the bed so she could sit down next to him. She wrapped one arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer until her cheek rested on top of his head which rested on her chest. And after a moment, he wrapped his arms around her.

They stayed like this until Kaldur's heavy breathing and trembling subsided. It was awhile before Artemis realized that he had fallen back asleep. And since Artemis couldn't think of a good way to disentangle herself from him without waking him, she didn't bother. Finally she fell asleep too.

This happened again about three days later (losing track of time, Kaldur staying over, Artemis waking up to pee or puke and find him having some grief driven nightmare, only to be calmed when she shook him awake and then held him in her arms, until eventually both fall asleep). When this happened a third time, Artemis said the hell with it, and told Kaldur that next time, he was going straight to her room.

Though Kaldur blushed and tried to talk his way out of it without biting his tongue off because of his stammering, Artemis refused to hear it.

Today however was a pretty important day. Kaldur had invited her and Paula to have dinner with himself and his parents. And Artemis was even more scared of the event than she had been when she realized she was pregnant.

She wasn't too sure why. She could understand wanting to officially meet the girl her son knocked up. The first time the Hyde's and Artemis had met in person had at the hospital she had been taken to after her abduction. A damn impressive first impression.

And it's not like she and Kaldur were married, meaning she'd see his parents a lot more than was necessary. All in all, all she had to do tonight was be polite and not rip off some poor unsuspecting fools head if her hormones shifted gears on her.

Still, she took a little more care than she normally did in fixing her hair in a curly ponytail with the shorter strands hanging around her face, and in picking out her clothes, a cream knee-length maternity dress with 3/4 length sleeves in a blue floral print, even applying a little of the makeup she kept on hand but almost never used.

Paula said she was also nervous to meet the Hyde's, but if she really was she didn't let it show on her face. Artemis let her be the one to drive into Star City, mostly because it was getting tougher for her to fit behind the wheel.

They drove to a small, but still much nicer than they could normally afford, seafood resteraunt overlooking Star City Harbor. Artemis asked for a few minutes alone, which her mother politely gave. _It's only dinner, not the ball at Buckingham Palace. Woman Up!_

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**_I enjoy reviews :)_**


	13. Chapter 12

It's just after midnight. Kaldur is lying awake in his bed. Of course, as of late, that wasn't an uncommon thing, but still. At least this time the thoughts keeping him awake were happier than normal.

Just hours ago he had had dinner with Artemis, her mother, and his parents. And things had gone... pretty well. That was the best word for it. There hadn't been any kind of disaster, and when they got home, his parents remarked how pleasant Artemis and Paula were.

They had clearly been impressed when Paula talked about how she went back to work after her injury and her husband's death, and smiled politely when she bragged about Artemis getting her teaching degree. His father had even teased him for Artemis being so beautiful.

And she had been. Not that she usually wasn't but tonight she had just been...** transcendant**. With her golden hair in a much softer than normal ponytail, light makeup, aglow from being pregnant with his child.

He liked to think that she'd done the first two things for him, but all the same he knew it was done more for his parents sakes. A unnecessary effort to prove that she wasn't some kind of trash who might have even become pregnant purposely to trap him, or some nonsense like that.

Still, the thought was the best thing helping him sleep right now, in place of the real thing. He rolled to his side and clutched a pillow in his grasp, trying to pretend that the smell of detergent was Artemis' shampoo and the light weight of it was her body, hoping that this farce would be sufficient to hold his nightmares at bay.

* * *

A few weeks later, Kaldur and Artemis are just entering Gotham, having left one of the best prenatal clinics in Star City, getting their latest prenatal checkup. And as far as the doctor, Dr. Diana Prince, could tell, everything was perfectly normal. Kaldur even got to hear his baby's heartbeat.

When Dr. Prince asked them if they wanted to know the sex, Kaldur, who wavered between wanting to know and being surprised, said no, but Artemis, who wanted to know, pointed out that Megan would want to know what to do for the nursery. It was a weak excuse but Kaldur caved anyway. Dr. Prince told them they should be very proud. They were having a girl.

A girl. Charlotte Rose.

It was impossible to tell who was happier. Both called their respective parents as soon as they were far enough outside of the clinic. Paula and Sha'lain'a both burst into tears, while David told Kaldur to invest heavily in guns for the future.

Looking back on it later, Artemis should have realized that the happiness, like a lot of things in her life, was about to get shot straight to Hell. Again.

* * *

It's about one o'clock in the morning, and, like the beginning of most horror stories, there's a storm going on outside. And I don't mean rain pounding on the roof, I mean thunder and lighting clashing like the titans, wind blowing crap in every direction, so dark that even though there was a full moon out, you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face. Any living creature with any sense at all was holed up somewhere relatively dry.

And inside the Crock apartment, is our beloved Kaldur, who's currently wrapped in the cruel twisted claws of a nightmare, his grief-stricken mind turning the cracks of thunder into the explosion of bombs, twisting and turning every which way and getting himself tangled in the bed sheets.

When they'd gotten back from the clinic, they'd set themselves up on Artemis' laptop, resuming their search for a place for the three of them. Paula taped the latest sonogram of her granddaughter on the fridge, but anyway.

Artemis, who's woken for no clear reason, is at a loss when she realizes what's going on. Or, kinda realizes what's going on. It's clear to her that Kaldur's having a nightmare, but that's the extent of it. So, she does what any rational person would. She tries to wake him.

She gives his shoulder a little shake, calls his name a few times. And to be more specific, that's when the happiness goes straight to Hell.

He opens his eyes, but he's still trapped in the hell of his own mind. He doesn't see Artemis, instead he saw a Bialyian soldier. This was the throat he grabbed for and pinned to floor with his forearm. It wasn't Artemis who struggled against him but a Bialyian soldier.

Only a minute passed, but for Artemis it was a lifetime. And she tried her best to break free from his grip. She called his name. She fought against him. Finally, she just bit him.

Oddly enough, this was the thing that woke him.

No living being could imagine the look on Kaldur's face. It was a cross between utter horror and complete and total shame. He released Artemis, who crawled away from him until her back hit the wall.

And he tried to speak, tried to apologize for his shameful actions, until he caught sight of the bruising that was already starting to form on Artemis' neck. That pretty much pushed all attempts at speech out of his mouth.

So he stood up, felt shame and self-loathing wash over him again when Artemis flinched away from him, gathered his clothes and dressed, then left the room. Artemis heard the front door close. She stayed curled up against the wall until the sun started to peek through the curtains.

Kaldur didn't come back, and Artemis wasn't really sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

**_OK, so who saw the Young Justice and Green Lantern series finales saturday and was just like... WTFWTFWTF?! ?! ?! ?! ?! How could those bastards at DC or whatever leave us hanging like that?! I mean, I don't even like Wally and I was just like damnnnnnnnnnn. And I definitely like Razaya so the ending pissed me the Hell off. Like I was eligible for a Red Lantern ring pissed. Share your feelings with me, let me know I'm not the only one._**

**_Just so ya know, cause I haven't been very clear on my timeline, the wedding and the pregnancy happened in April. Like the beginning of April. So the current setting is like mid-August until I say otherwise._**

**_I enjoy reviews:)_**


	14. Chapter 13

**_I don't own Young Justice. Because if I did, Dick & Zatanna & M'Gann & Conner wouldn't have broken up, I'd make sure it NEVER ended, or at least never ended the way it did, & most of my ideas wouldn't be considered kid-friendly._**

* * *

It's September 9, about 7 o'clock at night. It's a beautiful, kinda chilly evening outside, but inside the Jackson house, Kaldur is caught up in an emotional hurricane of his own making.

Kaldur hasn't talked to Artemis, who's left messages that he hasn't answered, hasn't talked to anyone at all, hasn't slept for fear of going crazy again, hasn't even left his bed except for the most basic of needs.

Roy stopped by last week and quite literally tried to drag him out of bed. Kaldur didn't even acknowledge him.

He knows his parents are worried bordering on terrified for him. Even now he can hear them downstairs, he just can't find it in him to console them. He hears the doorbell ring but he doesn't give it much thought other than that. He's too busy feeling disgusted with himself.

Why Artemis? Of all the times she had shaken him awake from his nightmares before, why? Why not to his father, who had done it before, who would have punched him in the throat and thrown him to the ground before Kaldur could even fully sit up.

He didn't know whether to throw himself off the Star City bridge or get down on his knees in front of her and beg her forgiveness, and he could only hope that she would be kind enough to grant it, though he doubted it.

His mother knocks on the door. "Kaldur'ahm? There is someone here to see you. And your father and I have to go out, so the two of you will be alone."

He's on his side looking out one of his bedroom windows, and doesn't bother rolling over or so much as glancing over his shoulder. Sha'lain'a sighs and asks whoever it is to please lock the front door behind them when they leave. He's surprised when he hears the person speak.

"Really? My big strong Marine baby daddy, who can, and does, fight enemy solders that aren't really there, is hiding under his bed sheets? **Really?"**

_Sit up! At least have the nerve to look her in the eye when she tells you to go jump off a bridge or throw yourself under a bus or something._

Artemis is standing in the doorway, with her usual confident smirk on her face, blond ponytail, jeans, and long-sleeved shirt, hands in the pockets of her winter coat, which is open and exposing her baby bump, and a pale purple scarf wrapped around her neck. He suspects the scarf is more to hide the evidence of his hideous crime than because of the weather, and thinks to dive back under the comforter.

She walks to sit on the edge of his bed, unwrapping the scarf along the way. And sure enough, there are purplish-blue marks along the front of her neck. She looks at him, gives a small smile while her noise simultaneously wrinkles. "You stink you know." He says nothing, just looks at her.

She leans back on his bed, and they sit quietly for a minute or two. Silence is after all kinda Kaldur's thing. Artemis doesn't really mind though. She's too busy taking a good look around his room. And is totally unsurprised by how simple it is.

It's got the usual stuff, a desk with a computer, a bed and a few pictures but that's the gist of it.

"I found us a house. Three bed two bath. When I told Megan, it was clear she was already decorating it in her mind."

She looks back to Kaldur. And he's just looking at her, with bags the size of Texas under his bloodshot eyes, stubble along his jaw line, and his hair starting to grow out into a tangled, greasy mess. It's her who breaks the silence of course.

"Look, Kaldur, whatever you might think, I'm not mad at you."

The look he gives then says _yeah, I'm sure_, so she amends the statement. "Okay, not mad **anymore**. And since your parents were afraid they'd wake up to find you hanging from a noose in your closet, they called me." Still he says nothing. Artemis sighs and continues.

"Kaldur, you have to understand something. **I'm** not afraid of you. I'm afraid for our baby."

To make a point, she grabs his hand and puts it on her belly, covering his with her's. "Whether you admit it or not, you need help. And if you won't get help for yourself, please, get it for her. Because if you don't, I don't think I have any choice but to keep you far far away from her. Please don't make that the only option."

Her words register better than anyone else's have. Especially when she said "Our baby" and "Far far away from her". He looks at the bruises on her neck, then to their baby, growing inside of her, then back to Artemis. "You should."

The small, hopeful smile Artemis wore slid off her face before Kaldur could blink. "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do."

Her face hardens into a more determined expression. "Well tough. Cause I don't want you to."

She moves so that she's sitting right next to him on the bed, wraps one arm around his shoulders and pulls his head down to her stomach with the other. He can hear his daughter's heartbeat. Little by little he relaxes.

At first when he feels his eyes droop, he fights back against it, until he finally gives in. Just as he's nodding off, Artemis tries her case one more time. "Will you please, please get yourself some help?"

Half-thinking himself dreaming, he answers "Alright." They're still wrapped together until his parents get home, three hours later. David offers to drive Artemis home, but she declines for the time being. And then she falls asleep herself.

Neither Jackson parent can find it in them to wake their beloved son or the pregnant woman he so clearly loves, so they just toss a blanket over them and borrow Artemis' phone to call Paula.

When they find Artemis still there in the morning, they take it in stride and offer her breakfast. And when she's obviously relectant to release Kaldur, they smile at each other and Sha'lain'a brings it to her. When Kaldur wakes up at about one in the afternoon, they do the same for him. After Artemis has made him shower and shave of course.

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_**I enjoy reviews :)**_


	15. Chapter 14

_**Honestly, I hate what I did with this chapter. This chapter is that relative you roll your eyes at & avoid at weddings & funerals & such because their so damn dramatic. Enjoy :)**_

* * *

_Tick tock tick tock tick tock._ That's how quiet the room is, the "room" in question being Dr. Dinah Lance-Queen's office, where Kaldur is sitting hunched over in his chair. And it's not that he doesn't want to talk. He just doesn't really know where to start.

Does he start with how his love for a dead woman who didn't love him back is keeping him from loving the living woman having his child? Or that the grief over this love caused him to lash out in the worst way possible?

And it's not like he's afraid Dinah (because in his mind, Dr. Lance-Queen would always be Dinah, Roy's adoptive mother) would talk about this to anyone, even Oliver or Roy, who have no idea about this. This is completely off the record, just Dinah helping her son's best friend.

It's September 19, about 10 o'clock in the morning. He's only been here for a few minutes.

By some miracle, Artemis got him out of his house for this. But not before making him take care of himself and his bedroom. In fact she's in Star City today, supposedly furniture shopping with her girl friends, but Kaldur suspected she hoped that he would seek her out afterwards.

They bought the house Artemis told him about. It's very nice, a Victorian style, painted a faded blue, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, in one of those kinds of neighborhoods where people know their neighbors and stop to talk to each other over the fence.

Anyway, where to start? Dinah is sitting across from him, just smiling politely and waiting. And he knows that's not hard for her to do, given what she's put up with from Oliver. But Kaldur's starting to feel like he's wasting her time. She'd probably like to be at home with Mia, her and Oliver's six-year-old daughter.

"Perhaps we should continue this another time?" He can't help but ask, though he knows how weak and pathetic it sounds.

"If we do then you'll just find an excuse to put it off again, and again and again. You don't have to talk today, but you will finish our time and come back next week." He recognizes her tone of voice. It's the tone she usually gets when she's telling Mia to finish her vegetables or Oliver to only have two drinks at a social event.

"Let's start at the beginning. I know you joined the Marines straight out of college. I know you and Roy talked every chance you got. I don't know anything about what you experienced in Bialya."

He nods his head. He takes a deep, deep breath through his nose before he responds. "I met a woman in my unit. Tula. I **loved** this woman. Who did not love me. And now she's dead."

If Dinah is surprised, it doesn't show on her face. She's good at that. Roy once told Kaldur how it got her banned from Oliver's poker games. "And now you're in love with another woman. Artemis?" He just nods. And then she nods like it's all coming together for her. "Tell her."

Kaldur finally looks up at her, confusion clear on his face. "Tell Artemis. About Tula. About her death, about everything. It doesn't have to be today, or tomorrow, but it does have to be soon. Trust me."

He does. He always has. But he has to find the nerve first. So he asks "Can I just sit here for a while?" Dinah smiles and says "Of course." He stays the rest of the hour, until another client of her arrives for their session.

* * *

Kaldur lets another week pass before he talks to Artemis. When he calls her, she interrupts him, telling him to meet him at the house. **Their** house specifically. He arrives the next day, just before dark and Artemis comes out of the house to meet him, clearly having been waiting for him.

"Close your eyes." He does. And she leads him up the stairs to the nursery. It's not finished, it's barely started, at least it was the last time Kaldur saw it last. Artemis opens the door and the smell of fresh paint is the first thing that meets him. "Open your eyes now."

It's like something out of a baby magazine. The walls are pale lavender, the furniture is white and pristine, a blanket artfully draped over the rail of the crib, with a plastic or crystal chandelier hanging. It's amusing to think about how long it will stay like that after Lottie Rose (Megan picked the nickname, because she refused to call a little girl Charlie) is actually born.

And Artemis isn't done yet. She leads him to their bedroom. Light blue walls, white bed sheets on a bed with iron canopy railings and white chairs, it's also like something out of a magazine.

"How did you finish so quickly?"

"We gave Megan free rein, remember? She's a decorating force of nature. Or an alien. I suspect an alien. Anyway, she went furniture shopping like five minutes after I told her we got the house. My girls painted last week and then got their boys to carry in the heavier furniture that they couldn't."

He sits in a nearby chair, as Dick would say, feeling a little whelmed. But it's a happy kind of whelmed. And then it comes back to him. Why he wants to talk to Artemis. Who's still talking.

"I told them to do Lottie's room first. They surprised me with this yesterday. They finished the upstairs bathroom too. Apparently Wally can move pretty quickly when motivated, and Megan promised to give him a kiss if he helped." She rolls her eyes at that. "All that's left is the kitchen, the living room, and the downstairs bathro-"

"Artemis, I have something I wish to discuss with you."

That gets her attention, along with the sad look on his face. She knows things are about to get serious. But still, she tries to make light of it, smiling and sitting in the chair next to him. "What's up?"

He looks like he's in pain, and he takes as deep a breath as he can through his mouth before he speaks. "You know that I was shipped overseas, to Bialya, yes?" She nods, because it's what he clearly expects.

"You do not know, that... in my unit, I met a woman. Tula McCauley, was her name. I... I **loved** her. But she did not reciprocate my feelings. She was engaged to a man in her hometown. But this did not stop my feelings. And then, one day, she was killed. And it was my fault."

It's getting harder for her to keep her face neutral, which is a good thing, because Kaldur can't bring himself to look at her. "Go on."

He looks up, shaking his head, making that sniffing noise people make when their trying not to cry. "You'll hate me."

"I could never. What happened?" He looks at her, and his eyes are clearly shining from tears. But something he sees in her face makes him continue. "We'd just finished some field training. We were driving back to base. And then suddenly there was something in the road. Someone."

"Who?"

"A little girl. And we are taught, 'you see anyone in the road, run them down'"

"Even kids?"

"Especially kids because they are used to get the convoys to stop, but... I could not. I did not see a trap, I saw a little girl so I slowed down and that's when an RPG hit us." He buries his face in her lap, this time allowing the tears to flow freely. Artemis does what she's getting good at. She wraps her arms around his upper half to the best of her ability.

She can't explain why it suddenly feels like a ten pound weight has been lifted off her.

* * *

Flash to October 30 **_(Am I on your nerves yet__ :)_**, and Kaldur and Artemis are... pretty freakin happy. Last night was an amazing break-through. After weeks speaking with Dinah and Artemis, Kaldur made it through the night without even a hint of a nightmare.

Their house is almost completely furnished, and their latest visit to Dr. Prince last week showed that everything was perfectly fine with Charlotte. The two of them are walking back to their car from dinner because their kitchen isn't completely done and because Artemis was craving italian food, fingers entwined smiling like there's no tomorrow. Basically the scene is like something out of a freakin romantic-comedy.

But of course, even in a romantic-comedy there's gonna be a tragedy.

Their in their car, just pulling out of the parking lot to the street. And like God dropped it down from Heaven, a car comes skidding around the corner and smashes into the passenger's side. Where Artemis is sitting.

After that, well their both knocked out, so it's understandable that they only have flashes of memory.

Like Kaldur kinda remembers calling out Artemis' name a few times, and being cut from the car. He remembers that when they finally arrived at the hospital, they paused with him on the gurney at the entrance and Artemis was pushed past him, and she was absolutely pale, blood on her face wearing one of those oxygen masks.

That's the last thing he remembers, because then he tried to get up off the gurney and had to be sedated.

* * *

_**If your like me, and it helps if you have visuals, I have links to the nursery and master bedroom on my page. And picture the therapy session basically like the one in "Disordered". **_

_**I've seen the comercials for Teen Titans Go. Who else is royally pissed that our Young Justice was ended for this crap?**_


	16. Chapter 15

_Beep, beep, beep, beep. _It's the first thing Kaldur hears when he wakes up. Well, that and hushed voices and a person speaking over the intercom. The first thing he feels, physically at least, is pain, mostly in his head and his left wrist. The first thing he feels emotionally is confusion, and a little fear.

_First things first,_ he thinks,_ figure out where it is you are. _He looks around. He's in one of those ugly paper backless gowns, hooked up to an i.v. and all kinds of other machinery, in a bed with the railings. He's clearly in a hospital, though he can't imagine why.

Then it all comes crashing down on him. The car. Artemis. Their baby. _Oh God. Charlotte. Artemis._

_BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP_. In case you don't know, that beep is Kaldur's heart rate, skyrocketing off the charts. It brings a brunette nurse in colorful scrubs running in. "You feeling alright honey?"

Seriously? That's the first thing she asks? If Kaldur weren't Kaldur, he'd probably snap her in two. But since he is, he simply asks, "I came in with a woman. Asian. Blonde. Pregnant. Where is she? And our daughter?"

She's too busy fiddling with the machines he's hooked to to answer right away. It feels like an eternity before she replies "I'm sorry but I don't know. I'll find out for you. I'm Wendy, Wendy Harris, your resident R.N." smiling as she walks out. She pauses at the doorway, "Oh! And you've got a friend here to see you." He hears her telling someone outside "You can go in now."

And in walks Roy, who's got shadows under his blue eyes and is clearly somber, even though he's trying to hide it with a smile on his face. "Where is Artemis? And Charlotte?"

He doesn't answer, instead he grabs a nearby chair and sits in it backwards. "For the record, I wasn't worried. I mean, if and RPG couldn't take you out, how could a car?"

"Where is Artemis? And Charlotte?", a little more forceful this time.

He's still dancing around the subject, saying "Wally and Dick say to tell you they're gonna try to sneak you in a six-pack. Swears it'll help with the pain. Probably will. And Wally would know. I mean, I love the guy but, total clutz, ever since we were kids."

"Where is Artemis? And Charlotte?"

"And your parents were here earlier but eventually they had to go to work. I believe your damage includes a grade four concussion and a broken wrist."

"Where is Artemis? And Charlotte?"

Roy sighs in defeat, realizing that his friend will not be pleased until he learns what it is he wants to know. He turns to the doorway and softly calls out "Jade, Paula?"

In they come, Jade pushing Paula, who's holding and murmering softly to the smallest pink bundle Kaldur's ever seen. Their faces match Roy's; happiness marred with sorrow. When Jade's pushed Paula next to Kaldur, she looks up at him and says "Say hello to your little pumpkin."

_Pumpkin? _Kaldur turns to Roy and asks "What is today?"

"November 3rd. You've been floating in and out of consciousness for the last three days. Almost every time you woke up you tried to get out of your bed. So you got sedated. A lot."

His mind is kinda blown, so he turns his attention back to his daughter. She's asleep, so no saying what color the eyes are. She's just bigger than a doll, a pink hat covering the little golden fuzz that is her hair.

His eyes well up, his throat closes up, and his voice disappears into thin air. He holds his arms out to Paula and she hands her over. Charlotte kinda shifts in her blankets but she doesn't wake up or anything. Jade's voice reminds him that he's not alone. "Born just after midnight. A little, ok a lot underweight but otherwise perfectly healthy."

"Perfectly healthy" is what really registers in Kaldur's mind. It also makes him think of her mother. "And Artemis?"

The three of them share a look. You know, the kind of that says what they have to say isn't gonna be pleasant. But no one can actually say it. So they decide to just show him.

* * *

They find him a wheelchair, and with Roy pushing him and Charlotte and Jade pushing Paula, they make their way to a different ward of the hospital. The ICU ward. Ice shoots through Kaldur just from looking at the sign.

Artemis' room is just inside the ward. And if Kaldur feels cold just looking at the sign, it's nothing compared to what's waiting for him

She's got bandages wrapped around her head like a turban. And she's pale. So pale that bruises Kaldur can see, on her face, arms, and hands, seem like dark smudges of ink. And she is completely out.

"Has," Kaldur has to swallow before he can continue. "Has she woken up at all?"

Paula's eyes well up again, and she doesn't speak, while Jade and Roy just share another of those looks. It tells Kaldur everything he needs to know.

* * *

Two weeks of this pass.

Because Artemis was on the passenger side, where the car hit, she took the worst of it, which included a "grade five concussion", which could cause memory loss, and going into labor, which caused her to hemorrhage. Otherwise she was just knocked around. All the doctors say she should wake up any day and walk out.

_Then why does she not?_ Kaldur wants to ask every time they do. He's spent the two weeks sitting by her bedside, sometimes with Charlotte, sometimes alone.

The driver, named Joe Kerr who's got a rap sheet that could be wrapped all around the white house and still leave at least three feet of paper, reeked of booze, and there were several empty bottles in the passenger seat. At least that's what Roy tells him. Sentenced to ten years, and it probably would have been less if it had just been Kaldur he hit.

Kaldur was released last week, and was allowed to take Charlotte, who's greatest problem is being born so early and so often spends her days sleeping, home as well. Although he prefers to spend time in Artemis' room, because the now finished house seems too big and quiet without her in it.

Someone's always with her, and Kaldur, be it Megan or Paula who take the time to fix her hair and sponge her face, or Zatanna or Jade talking to her, telling her everything she's missed out on. Even Connor and Dick stop by, both just sitting quietly by her bedside, offering only their support and faith that she would pull through.

She looses weight fast, despite the I.V.'s offering their man-made nutrients. Like thirty minutes or less fast. The change is literally noticeable day by day. She goes from

The few times Kaldur's not at the hospital, someone's also with him and Charlotte, doing nothing other than caring for Charlotte or simply offering their silent company.

* * *

Today is one of Kaldur's alone days. Roy and Jade and all of their friends have to work, and Charlotte is spending the day being fawned over by her grandfather and both of her grandmothers. Kaldur's kinda glad about that. He knows he hasn't exactly been the most attentive new father.

But can you really blame him?

Anyway, it's just like it's always been lately. Him in a chair pulled close next to her bed, no noise other than the kind made from the various machinery in the room and hospital. When there's maybe ten minutes left until visiting hours are over and the nurses chase him out, he decides to talk to Artemis. They say loved ones can hear you, right?

"Charlotte is quite beautiful Artemis. I suppose all fathers say so but in this case it is true. She is made in your image." It's true. Her hair is a darker blonde than Kaldur's, her skin a few shades lighter, and the few times she bothers to open her eyes, they are a silvery gray.

He remembers something he brought for her. He takes out of his pocket a framed picture, of himself on the couch holding a sleeping Charlotte. Megan took it when they came home. He leaves it on the small chest of drawers next to the bed where she can't miss it.

Then he leans over and kisses her forehead, leaning his against it for a moment to say "It doesn't if you do not come back altogether. Just please come back. I love you." Then he leaves.

It's not long after he does that it happens. Artemis moves a finger. It's another minute and then her hand. Then both hands. Then she kinda shifts, like she trying to stretch. Then she actually opens her eyes, first staring at the ceiling in confusion then something catches her attention.

It's a picture. Of a man and a baby, that much she can tell. There seems to be a wall of fog in front of her eyes. She doesn't really give it much thought before rolling over on her side and going back to sleep.

* * *

**_Have I brought any tears yet? _**

**_I enjoy reviews :) _**


	17. Chapter 16

Another three hours later, Artemis wakes up again, a little more alert this time. _Where in Hell am I? What happened? Think._

Obviously she's in a hospital, though she can't in Hell figure out why. And then a picture on the little dresser next to the bed catches her attention, and her eyes half bug out of her skull. Kaldur is sitting on their couch, in their living room, holding a baby.

_What the Hell?_ And then her hands fall to her stomach. Flat. Completely and totally flat. _What the Hell!? _She's struggling to breathe now, hyperventaleting, her heart rate shooting through the roof.

It brings some random nurse running in. "What is going on?" The nurse doesn't answer, just injects a hyperdermic into the I.V. attached to her veins. Whatever it is, it blissfully sends her into the peaceful world of dreams and darkness, leaving her to face her problems later.

* * *

It's a day later. Kaldur, Paula, and Jade are doing the fast walk through the hospital, to Artemis' room. They just got the call that she's awake. They would have ran but, you know, with Paula's condition, and trying to run in a hospital... it's a disaster, one worthy of an Oscar. Anyway, the three of them are in the hospital, their destination being Artemis' room.

Kaldur's pushing Paula, who's got Charlotte in her arms. Jade would have probably beaten them there if, you know, she wasn't about six months pregnant. And Roy and the others couldn't get out of work to be there.

Anyway, they finally get to her room. A doctor is just coming out of it. He can obviously tell who they are to his patient when they skid to stop in front of him and hit him with a barrage of questions.

"How is she?"

"Is she okay?"

"Does she remember anything?"

The doctor holds up a hand, asking for silence. They comply. He looks at them and pauses, like the lead in the damn hospital soap operas, before he smiles. "She's just fine."

The collective sigh they made could have been heard over in Scotland. "She was a little confused when she first woke up, and needed an explanation, but she has no long term memory loss. She could use a better meal than what we serve here, but that's the gist of it. We're keeping her for observation for another day or two, but you can take her home soon. She's asking for you."

Kaldur pushes Paula in, Jade following behind like a shadow. Artemis is sitting up in the bed, watching them, and smiles when they look at her. Kaldur hangs back and takes Charlotte from Paula so she and Jade can rush forward and trap Artemis in a death hug. He feels like an intruder to this moment, so he turns his attention to his sleeping daughter.

Jade insisted on dressing her for this. She's grown slightly, but the pale pink and white lace dress Jade dressed her still dwarfs her, as do the white lace socks on her feet.

Jade and Paula finally pull back from her. She looks over to Kaldur and smiles, asking him "You gonna stand there the whole time?" He walks over and bends over her, expecting to just receive a hug, but she pulls him down to her lips instead.

Paula motions for Jade to push her out of the room. She does, though she clearly doesn't want to.

Kaldur and Artemis part about two minutes after they leave. The look Artemis gives him when he pulls back is so full of love and emotion he can't help but look away. Charlotte decides to wake up then, and moves her arms like she's stretching, which catches Artemis' attention.

And on a scale of one to ten in the loving looks category, if the look she gave Kaldur was a nine, maybe a ten, the look she gives Charlotte is a hundred-an-one. Her reaction is similar to how Kaldur's was. Her eyes fill up with happy tears and her throat shuts, making her voice disappear. All she can do is hold her arms out in a wordless plea, which Kaldur complies to.

It's a minute or two in her mother's arms before Charlotte fully wakes up, and looks at her mother with a pair of very familiar silvery orbs. "How can you love someone you just met so much?" It's a stupid question but she can't help but ask it. It's okay though because Kaldur doesn't really have a decent answer.

"I do not know beloved. It just happens." There's a little quaver in his voice, and his own eyes are filling up. He moves so that he's stretched out on the bed next to them, with one arm around Artemis' shoulders, resting his head on her shoulder.

When Jade and Paula return, they say nothing. They just pull up close to Artemis' free side and sit until visiting hours end and they're kicked out by the nurses.

* * *

Flash forward to November 24th. Artemis has been home for the last three days, three days that have been spent regaining the weight she'd lost by eating Megan's cooking, which she's been coming over to give at least three times a week since the accident.

Three days having her friends and family spend every minute that they don't have to spend at work with her and Charlotte, who could bathe in all the attention Artemis gives her.

Three days spent getting to know her neighbors, mostly young newlyweds Karen and Mal Duncan across the street.

Three days that she and Kaldur have spent getting "reaquainted" with each other, the time lost in the hospital feeling like fifty years. Of course, only when Charlotte is, say, napping or with her grandparents, which isn't very often because Kaldur and Artemis are both perfectly content to do absolutely nothing but look at her.

Tonight is date night. Megan, being the organizing little freak that she is, has arranged for her and Conner and Artemis and Kaldur to meet and have dinner at a place called Bertanellie's, an upscale Italian place in Metropolis. And she's taken it upon herself to help Artemis get ready for the night. If only Artemis would make it a little easier.

"Artemis, if you don't hold still, I'm gonna poke out your eye!" Megan's in the middle of the delicate process that is applying eye shadow.

"Megan, I love you, you know that, but you just can't seem to realize that you don't have a lot to work with." She can't help but admit she'd rather be at home on the couch with Kaldur and Charlotte, who's spending the night with her Godmama Zatanna and Uncle Dick in Gotham, who begged out of the whole thing.

Megan just rolls her eyes, as she usually does when Artemis tries this argument. She even picked out her clothes, a body fitting dark purple dress, with a sweetheart neckline stopping just above the knee and long, floaty sleeves and and black pumps with a strap around her ankles. She curled her hair and picked out silver jewelry.

"I bet Kaldur can't wait to see you." She's already dressed in a pale yellow sleeveless dress with a flared knee-length skirt, a sheer chiffon overlay and white belt and matching heels with ribbons wrapping around her ankles.

Artemis decides to change the subject. "So, this Conner guy, he's good to you?"

Megan's face takes on this dreamy look, the kind she usally reserves for the ending of romantic-comedies and the hero in one of her romance novels. "Very." And she leaves it at that.

"You wanna elaborate, Megan?"

"Oh, right, sorry! Well, at first, he comes off as a man of few words. Tough, cold, not very caring about others. But then when someone shows him a little warmth and he just opens up. Actually, when I really think about it, he reminds me of you." Artemis lets that sink in while Megan finishes up. "Alright! Your ready", turning her around to face the vanity mirror.

"Execellent job Megan, as usual." It is of course. Megan's face joins her's in the mirror. "Thank you!" She smiles a mischevous smile before saying "Did I mention I'm pregnant?"

"Wait- What!?"

* * *

And now it's after midnight in Jackson-Crock home. That nice dress Megan put Artemis in? Crumpled on the floor, along with the shoes and Kaldur's own clothes where they threw them in their hurry.

The owners of the aforementioned clothes are lying on top of each other in bed, making small talk and just enjoying their alone time before picking up Charlotte in the morning.

Megan and Conner spent the entire night holding hands and making goo goo eyes at each other. When Artemis dropped her fork and bent to pick it up, she saw them playing footsie under the table. Though Kaldur and Artemis couldn't complain. It was kinda cute, and it was plain to see that they wanted it to end just as much as they did so they could run home and do some pretty imaginable things.

And she was right about the whole man of few words thing. He made polite conversation of course, but only if someone else spoke first, unless it was Megan doing the talking. Artemis told Kaldur about her pregnancy on the way home. Of course he was surprised but nonetheless happy for them.

When they got home they went straight for the bedroom. Of course they loved Charlotte, but she made having a sex life next to impossible.

"When do you suppose they will tell the others?" Kaldur muses about Megan and Conner.

"Megan's the mind reader Kal, not me. But I just imagine soon. Megan's the kind of person who has trouble keeping a secret when it's a good kind of secret."

Kaldur smiles at this, then pulls her closer and takes her hands in his, stretching them out so he can see the ring he put on her right ring finger when they got home. It's not much, just a pink tourmaline, Charlotte's birthstone. Artemis didn't complain though. If anything it made her push him up to their room even faster than normal.

"And about ourselves?"

She doesn't have to give her answer much thought. "We say that we're in love. That we have a beautiful baby girl and wonderful friends and family. And if that's not enough for them, then clearly we don't need them."

Kaldur laughs. It's exactly what he'd expect her to say. Artemis pulls him in for a kiss. The kiss gets a little deeper, which leads to arms wrapping around the other, which leads to Kaldur pushing Artemis onto her back for round three, which leads to a round four, then a five, well into the morning, until they spend their final hours in the world of dreams, dreaming about tomorrow, about each other, about their future, about everything imaginable.

* * *

**_For the record, I'm not really gonna have them married. I just like the idea of them having a kinda partnership instead._**

**_I enjoy reviews :)_**


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